Let's talk culture

When put down on paper, it seems simple enough, yet we continue to struggle to understand its true meaning. Every industry refers to culture. The financial services have written regulations around accountability and responsibility for financial organisations, so vulnerable consumers are not at risk of being taken advantage of. The FCA has set itself out to transform culture across the financial services industry. They have referred to it has being the root cause of some of the failings evidenced within the industry over the last decade, therefore, it is high up on their regulatory agenda. Are they winning? Lots have been done, but this journey has only begun and will continue because the industry is still understanding what this looks like for them and the controls they need to ensure it is working adequately.

From one big industry to the next with total opposite ambitions and culture yet again surfaces. The food industry has concerns about food fraud and substitution within the food chain which ultimately stems from behaviours. You would remember the horse meat scandal which is an example of food fraud, or the needles found in strawberry punnets which took place in Australia last year. These threats are becoming more frequent because organisations don't fully understand how to roll out cultural awareness activities or to embed a culture that befits their industry.

So irrespective of the industry you are in, one thing is clear - CULTURE - is on everyone's agenda. But we still are not sure whether we are getting it right. You only have to read the news about vulnerable consumers and you know that whilst we have an ambition to get this right, we still struggle. We need "cultural ambassadors" across the organisation to ensure the cultural agenda is on everyone's radar. A plan with timelines and responsibilities are required; most importantly a sponsor within the senior leadership team. Without the relevant leadership commitment, culture within organisations will forever remain an engima for some.

--Serengetti Standards Social Media Team--